Newby
by WarriorMan199456
Summary: In spite of the fact that he and Genshirou Saji were of different species and personalities, Issei Hyoudou would wholeheartedly admit that Saji was truly and irrevocably his best friend. Solar!Issei/Saji Friendship. A snippet based on High School DxD: Rise of the Solar God.


It occasionally occurred to Issei Hyoudou that in spite of the fact he and Genshirou Saji were of different species and personalities, he would wholeheartedly admit that Saji was truly and irrevocably his best friend.

Why, someone might ask. Why did Issei consider Saji to be his closest friend? Issei no doubt deeply loved Ophis as his wife, Great Red as his brother-in-law, and unforgettably Leiko as his adoptive cousin. He also thought of Vali Lucifer as his friendly rival.

But with Saji...

Issei didn't know what to think. What with his initial yet dwindling desire to be left alone, and his slight tension with some of the supernatural creatures, it was a wonder why he regarded Saji in any way.

The moment he met Saji, Issei remembered, was six months ago. The day Leiko had come to visit him. The elder Hyoudou had taken him to the library, in hopes of spending time with her younger cousin. While separating from Leiko, Issei bumped into Saji, and from that point on, the latter had given Issei a nickname that the Solar God kept in his mind.

_Newby..._

Issei knew what the term meant. And yet he still to this day could not figure out why Saji gave him that nickname. At the time, Issei initially thought it was because he was recently an incoming student enrolling into Kuoh Academy. But even after six months, Saji still referred to him as Newby.

When Issei became involved with the supernatural for the first time, which involved his battle with Riser Phenex, he admittedly developed a distrust for Devils. Admittedly, he knew it was a bit irrational and immature for him to think that all Devils were malicious, when only two of them involved him in their plans without his knowledge. Still, the thoughts lingered.

Issei often had the impression that the reason some of the Devils, specifically the Occult Research Club and the Student Council, were so interested in him, was solely because of his power. Sure, now there was a bit of camaraderie between him and the members of the aforementioned clubs. But the Solar God still couldn't let go of that initial impression.

The Solar God wasn't one to display favoritism, but the only reason he even interacted with the Devils at all, was solely because of Saji. Issei didn't know why exactly. He could get along with Vali and Serafall (even if she was affectionately playful) perfectly, but...it just wasn't the same compared to his interactions with Saji.

In spite of Saji being a Devil, Issei still considered him to be his closest friend. Why? What made the Occult Research Club and the rest of the Student Council different from Genshirou Saji? Just one word.

Power.

Issei never believed that his power was a curse or anything like that. It was just that petty Gods, or just petty people in general, wouldn't leave him the hell alone.

Due to his power, otherworldly beings attempted to challenge him in order to prove their superiority, which annoyed the Solar God to no end. Normally Issei would've just let it go and move on, but the literal supernatural world (which was later revealed to be the combination of the 'supernatural' and Issei's yandere grandmother Izanami-no-Mikoto), was obsessed with him to the point of bringing him more trouble.

But Saji...

Saji never once judged or based his opinion on Issei's power. During the rare times in which they interacted with each other, Issei felt...content. That isn't to say Issei was never happy with Ophis, Leiko, and the others. It was just that Issei wanted to be treated as a 'normal' person.

Well as normal as he could be classified as.

Aside from all that, Issei considered Saji as his friend, and nothing would change that.

* * *

><p>"UNO!"<p>

Issei jumped in reaction to the sudden exclaim of excitement. He looked around his surroundings, noticing that he and Saji were in his house, sitting on opposite couches with a deck of cards in front of them. Blinking several times, the Solar God's vision cleared to see Genshirou Saji holding one card in his hand.

The pawn of Sona Sitri sent Issei a confident and smug smile as he crossed his arms, making sure to shield the front of the card from Issei's sight.

Issei blinked again and looked down at his hands. He was holding one card as well, and he remembered saying 'UNO' before he ended his turn.

"I have just one more card, Newby." Saji said, his smile widening, "Just one more turn and I win! Now make your last move!"

The Solar God looked down at his card, and allowed a smile to form on his lips as he locked eyes with Saji.

"Uno out."

With a confident smile, Issei placed his last card onto the table, ignoring the urge to laugh at his best friend's predetermined reaction. Saji looked down at the table, and his smile grew even wider, surprising Issei.

"UNO OUT!"

Ignoring Issei's change in facial expression, Saji dramatically slammed his card onto the table.

"What? You had a Draw Four card too, Saji-san?"

"That's right! Read it and weep, Newby! Now you have to draw eight cards!"

"...But I already said uno out. Are you sure it works like that?" Issei said.

"Are you doubting your best friend?" Saji asked, halfheartedly giving Issei the guilt trip, "Come on! At least let me have this victory!"

"Well I mean..." Issei hesitated, "I don't think it works like that, Saji-san."

"How would you know, Newby? You're not even _from_ Earth!"

Indeed, Genshirou Saji was truly and irrevocably his best friend.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>Midterms are finally over, and I sort of fell in the mood of writing a little snippet before continuing the next chapter of High School DxD: Rise of the Solar God. <strong>

**The next chapter should be out soon. Hopefully.**

**But anyway, yeah this was just something to get me back on track with Rise of the Solar God. Hope you enjoyed it.**


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